THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS

VOL: 35 n ISSUE: 25 n FRIDAY n 27 JANUARY 2012 PORT BLAIR n Rs. 5.00 n PAGES 8 n RNI No. 28480/75

POSTAL REGN NO. PBLRNP/08/2008-2010www.lightofandamans.blogspot.com

TAMILIANS DREADMOTIVATED REVENGEApproaches Home Minister for ReliefIn an explosive representation made to the Home Minister, the Andaman TamizharSangham, a socio-cultural organization, representing the interests of the Tamiliansof the Islands for over 60 years has lambasted the ANI Admn accusing it of motivat-ed harassment of prominent Tamil businessmen and concerted effort to root out theTamil community of the Islands layer by layer in a planned manner.

P CHIDAMBARAM IN HOME MINISTER MODE

P CHIDAMBARAM IN POLITICAL MODE

BAMBOOFLAT-CHATHAM BRIDGE:DEMAND INTENSIFIESACCI DELEGATION MEETS HM:DEMANDS INVESTMENT

IN INFRASTRUCTUREQUEST FOR KALAPATHAR

CRPF FORMED

2 |cover|STORY THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 27 JANUARY 2012

BYSTAFFREPORTER

Every Citizen of the countryhas been bestowed withrights through the

Constitution of Indian on theRepublic Day in 1950. This wasthe Day in fact when the Citizensbecame free whereas the nationwas geographically freed onIndependence Day. But despite

the Constitutional Rights andother privilege and rights offeredby the Government to its people,the common people are deprivedof the same due to vested interestsof bureaucrats, politicians andother related elements. Realizingthis fact group of some like-mind-ed people came together to form abody christened as "Civil RightsProtection Forum". They met a

number of times and after draftingits bye-laws and Memorandum ofAssociation for its registrationlaunched the Forum on 26thJanuary, 2012. Engineer T.KKrishnamooty, Dy. Chief Engineer,AHW, who is an authority onRight to Information Act in theislands as on special invitee inter-acted with the members andappealed to them to act truly for

the underprivileged and needy cit-izen and to achieve the aims andobjectives of the Forum. Themembers vowed that 'they canand they shall bring a positivechange in the Society'.

The Forum has unanimouslyelected Retd. Dy.S.P NageshwarRao as its President and SocialActivist Smti. Kesar Devi as VicePresident. Basudev Dass a media

person and Social activist is theGeneral Secretary with Arvind RaiSharma, Social activist as JointSecretary. The fund and cash willbe taken care of by Dr. Misri Lall,CMO (SAG) (Retd.).

The Forum has people from allwalks of society including engi-neers, doctors, businessmen,lawyers, mariners, agriculturist,bureaucrats etc.

Once registered the Forum willbegin with awareness campaignall over the islands to make the cit-izens responsive of their Rightsand duties to make an empoweredcitizen in the islands territory.

Civil Rights Protection Forum Formed

BYSTAFFREPORTER

The demand for a bridge con-necting Bambooflat withChatham was a common

point in most of the memorandasubmitted to the Home Minister. Itwas part of the agenda of all majorpolitical parties and Pachayati RajInstitutions. Bambooflat BridgeForum, a group strongly pursuingthe matter at various levels hasbeen approaching political partiesand others to take up the issue.

In a representation addressed tothe Home Minister, theBambooflat Bridge Forum as wellas Humane Touch has highlightedthe plight of about 15000 com-muters who depend on the erraticand insufficient ferry service tocommute between Bambooflatand Port Blair.

Port Blair, the capital city is thehub of all citizen centric serviceslike the lone referral GB PantHospital, A&N AdministrationSecretariat, LG/CS/DeputyCommissioners Office, CivilCourts, Directorates of all Offices,Schools, Colleges, Polytechnic, ITI,Business Establishments, Shops,Sports facilities etc and that a goodnumber of people form the ruralSouth Andaman i.e, FerrargunjTehsil need to visit Port Blair toavail one or the other services,including employment on dailybasis.

The representation said thatFerrargunj Tehsil is the secondmost populated after Port BlairTehsil of South Andaman district.About 15000 passengers - com-prising students, office-goers,patients, Industrial workers - andmore than a thousand vehicles,both two-wheelers and fourwheelers commute betweenBambooflat and Chatham.

In a joint representation byHumane Touch, it blamed theAndaman & Nicobar administra-tion, which has miserably failed tocater to the need and requirementsof these passengers. In the name ofaugmenting the vehicle ferry serv-ices, the Directorate of ShippingServices has procured a number ofboats, which has not been put intoservices due to reasons best knownto the authorities. The boat serviceis frequently disrupted due to tech-nical snag in the boats which cur-rently ply on this route, thus caus-ing irreparable loss of time to thecitizens.

With time, there has been enor-mous increase in the numbers ofpassengers and Vehicles as well.The ferry services operated byDirectorate of Shipping Services(DSS) with subsidized rate could

hardly meet the demands of theincreased commuters. Capacitywise the ferries are inadequate androutinely irregular. The com-muters waste precious time wait-ing for their turn to get accommo-dated in ferry and cross over toChatham. Parents especially thoseof school going children are forcedto migrate to Port Blair so that theirchild's precious time is not wastedwaiting for ferry which they couldconcentrate on studies. Oftenpatients referred to GB Pant forspecialized treatment could beseen gasping for life, waiting forthe ferry.

It also blamed that DSS hasbadly failed to deliver the servicefor which they are in place.Moreover, there is no scope forputting additional ferries in theroute as there is only one Jetty on

each side. There is one ferryalmost every half an hour duringthe peak time. Given the windyconditions and passenger ferriesapart from vehicle ferry plying inthe route, existing jetties arealready saturated leaving no scopefor introduction of additional ferryin between. On many occasion, theferries hover for want of berthingplace.

The Forum strongly advocatedthat there is no alternative left butto construct a bridge connectingBambooflat to Chatham. It also feltthat construction of a bridge willsolve the problem faced by therural South Andaman once and forall. It also believes that this movewill in-turn prove beneficial inmany ways.

Quoting the Supreme Court ver-dict for the closure of ATR from

Jirkatang to Middle Strait and thealternate proposed ATR via ShoalBay, the forum has demanded for abridge which will serve as themain life line for North- MiddleAndaman in this context if theBridge connecting Bambooflat-Chatham is built.

The bridge, it believes will pro-vide seamless connectivity andprove to be a life line for the entirepopulation residing in the ruralSouth Andaman including thosewho are referred from Rangat,Mayabunder or Diglipur area forspecialized treatment at GB PantHospital Port Blair, thereby raisingthe quality of life.

On the tourism front, the forumhighlighted that the locations likeMount Harriet, North Bay and thelesser known Shoal Bay could bepromoted thereby increasingemployment potential and thetourism industry will get the muchneeded boost in rural SouthAndaman as well.

The bridge would also motivatepopulation to migrate to the ruralSouth Andaman, which will helpin decongesting the alreadychocked Port Blair city, the memo-randum said.

Huge revenue spent on procure-ment, maintenance and opera-tional cost on large fleet of boatsand revenue loss due to enormousamount of subsidy being renderedto commuters. The whole lossincurring as on date could be a rev-enue generator if a bridge comes toexistence in the said route. Thecost incurred for construction ofsuch bridge could be retrieved byimposing toll-tax as being followedin mainland.

Such a bridge could last for at-least 100 to 150 years as comparedto boats/ships each of which costscrores of rupees and runs on enor-mous amount of HSD, stock ofwhich is ever depleting and is cer-tain to dry up sooner or later.

The forum has alreadyapproached the Administration toseriously look into the imminentneed of the rural population andsought their intervention to initiatea study without further delay.Political parties like Congress andBJP and Adhyaksh, Zilla Parishad,South Andaman has also raisedthis issue.

Bambooflat-Chatham Bridge:Demand Intensifies


BYSTAFFREPORTER

PChidambaram, HomeMinister surprised everyoneby switching on to political

mode and showering promises,playing to the gallery at the meet-ing organized by the StateCongress Committee at GandhiBhawan premises on 21 January.

Andaman and Nicobar Islandshave recorded a growth of 10 per-cent, said P Chidambaramaddressing Congress workers atGandhi Bhawan Complex.Andaman and Nicobar Islands,which lies 1200 kms away fromIndia is as much a part of India asany other state, he said. It is theduty of the Centre to look after theneeds of the 3.9 lakh populationhere. He said that ANI has alwaysreceived special attention of theCentral Government led by UnitedProgressive Alliance led by SoniaGandhi.

P Chidambaram praised thememorandum submitted by theCongress State President and saidthat he doesn’t have to go throughall the representations and memo-

randums submitted by variouspolitical parties and organisations,as the representation of Congresshas covered all issues.

On the 2004 tsunami, he saidthat the first challenge was torebuild the areas hit by the disas-trous tsunami and as FinanceMinister during that time;Chidambaram said that sufficientfund was allocated by the Centre.Expressing satisfaction over com-pletion of rehabilitation work, hesaid that except carpeting of 4.8km road and distribution of com-pensation package to the farmerswhose lands are submerged,tsunami rehabilitation pro-gramme has been fully completed.

He also promised that the plansize for the Islands will beincreased by 30% and about Rs1400 crores will be allocated nextyear onwards.

Taking a dig on the presentMember of Parliament, he saidthat no one is happy with the sit-ting MP and he does not com-mand any support.Congratulating the state Congress

party over their victory in allPanchayati Raj and Local SelfGovernment Bodies, he said thatthere is a small gap, which theparty should fill in the 2014General Elections.

Speaking about the perform-ance of the Party in various statesgoing to polls soon, he said thatout of 5 states, Congress is in acomfortable position in 4 states.

On Compensation for Tsunamiaffected farmers, he said that he isaware of the issue and fund hasalready been provided to the ANIAdmn. He said that 95% of theaffected farmers are willing toaccept the financial compensationpackage and the party shouldwork to convince the remaining sothat the fund can be disbursedbefore 31st March 2012. He alsoassured that the Government hasno plans for acquisition of the sub-merged land.

On the issue of Andaman TrunkRoad and Buffer Zone, he said thatboth are complicated issues andwill have to be dealt legally inSupreme Court. However, he said

PC in Political Mode

BYZUBAIR AHMED

BBaann oonn RReeccrruuiittmmeennttss::"There is a general restriction as

per the guidelines on employmentbut there is no general ban on cre-ating posts. We are creating newposts for the Directorate ofDisaster Management forAndaman and Nicobar Islands,"said P Chidambaram, speaking tothe press at Raj Niwas on 23rd Jan2012.

NNPPRR aanndd AAaaddhhaarr CCoonnttrroovveerrssyy::On the controversy around

Aadhar and NPR, he said thatNPR is mandated by an Act,mandatory for residents of Indiaand issued by Registrar General ofIndia. He said that there is no dis-pute with Aadhar and we supportAadhar. The only contention isabout the authority of capturingbio-metric data.

NNoo IInnfflluuxx iinn tthhee IIssllaannddss::The issue of population influx

and the demand for implementa-tion of Inner Line Permit, whichfeatures in many representationsmade to the Home Minister hasbeen laid to rest with PChidambaram refuting the issuesaying that as per Census 2011,there is only gradual growth ofpopulation in the Islands and

there is no influx of population.Hence, he felt that there is noneed for implementation of InnerLine Permit.

OOnn AATTRR aanndd BBuuffffeerr ZZoonnee::The Supreme Court has

ordered closure of two stretches ofAndaman Trunk Road - 43 kmsand 13 kms, which will divide theroad into three bits. Various sug-gestions are made by differentorganisations. However, in thelight of the case in subjudice, itwon't be prudent to make a com-ment on this issue. He further saidthat no feasibility study has beenconducted for an alternate route.On Buffer Zone, he said that theRegulation was made as per therequirement of protection ofJarawa tribe. Since the matter is incourt, I will not comment on it.

OOnn MMaaiinnssttrreeaammiinngg ooff JJaarraawwaass::Mainstreaming is a complex

issue and is misunderstood.Jarawas are a very old tribe. If theJarawas want something, its forthem to decide. The Governmentof India's policy is that Jarawasshould decide their own pace andit may take many years. He alsosaid that nothing will be imposedupon them by the Govt.

OOnn AAlltteerrnnaattiivvee LLaanndd ffoorr TTssuunnaammii--aaffffeecctteedd FFaarrmmeerrss::

As there is acute shortage of rev-enue land, and about 95% of landis under forest cover and othersimilar categories, it won't be pos-sible to provide alternative land tothe tsunami affected farmers. AsTsunami was a natural disaster, itis the obligation of theGovernment to provide compen-sation. P Chidambaram said thatan overwhelming majority of theaffected farmers are willing toaccept the compensation packageof Rs 9.39 lakhs per hectare, heappealed all political partiesthrough the media to convincethe remaining farmers and take

the compensation. He alsoassured that the government hasno plans of acquisition of the sub-merged land.

OOnn SSooaarriinngg AAiirrffaarree::P Chidambaram made it very

clear that airfares are fixed by theairlines and government has nocontrol over it. He also said thatthere is subsidy on ship ticketsbetween Island-Mainland sector.However, he said that if the num-ber of flights increases the fareswill naturally come down. Onstretcher patients' airfare he saidthat it is also decided by the air-lines. It doesn't matter whetherUPA or NDA is in power.

OOnn CCSSCC aanndd PPrriivvaattiissaattiioonn::He said that Common Service

Centre (CSC) is a project ofMinistry of IT and part of e-gover-nance and is run on PPP mode,and it has nothing to do with pri-vatisation. With no. of CSCs itwould provide employment tothe people of the Islands.

OOnn AAsssseemmbbllyy ffoorr tthhee IIssllaannddssHome Minister P

Chidambaram said that at pres-ent there is no proposal for anAssembly for the Islands.

OOnn LLookkaayyuukkttaa ffoorr UUnniioonnTTeerrrriittoorriieess::

Let a strong Lokpal Bill bepassed by the Government andthe government will think aboutthe authority for the UnionTerritories.

OOnn CCoonnttaaiinneerr TTrraannss--sshhiippmmeennttPPoorrtt iinn CCaammppbbeellll BBaayy::

He said that it is just an idea,which needs vigorous study. Suchprojects require thousands ofcrores of rupees and shouldrequire careful study.

OOnn MMeeddiiccaall CCoolllleeggee ffoorr tthheeIIssllaannddss::

He said that there are lots ofissues which are being sorted outfor medical college in the Islands.

He also spoke about the pro-posed Food Security Act and theproposal for free ration to policepersonnel.

PC in Home Minister Mode

that the Government has gone onappeal. He also assured that theBuffer Zone Regulations will beamended once again.

On ATR, he also said that someNGOs are demanding closure ofthe road, however, the lives oflakhs of settlers will be affected.He said that the interest of the 3.9Lakh population as well as the trib-als are paramount forGovernment of India andCongress Party.

Expressing happiness over theimprovement of Jarawa tribe, hesaid that after 2001, Jarawa popu-lation has increased by 50% andthey are getting the benefits ofmodern medicine and other facili-ties. He also said that we shouldallow Jarawas to mainstream attheir own pace.

On the issue of connectivity, hesaid that despite huge subsidy inShipping services, the journey isnot comfortable. He said that

more aircrafts should ply to theIslands, which will make the fareaffordable. On subsidizing airfare,he assured that he is looking intothe issue.

On Education and Health, hesaid that there are not enoughseats, although aspirations arevery high. Medical colleges withprivate participation are the onlysolution to the issue.

He also assured that a specialmeeting of all concerned min-istries will be convened to lookinto the various issues raised bythe party. He also said that most ofthe decisions would be takenbefore the month of April as he isplanning another visit in April,when he would visit North andMiddle Andaman District.

Earlier, Kuldeep Rai Sharmawelcomed P Chidambaram andalso highlighted various issues ofthe Islands and submitted a mem-orandum.


BYZUBAIRAHMED

Blaming the ANI Admn formuch of its plights, the rep-resentation signed by thePresident of Andaman

Tamizhar Sangham has said thatthe Admn have of late been play-ing a highly dubious role threat-ening business as well as liveli-hood interests of the Tamil popu-lation. It further says that thereseems to be a systematic attemptto eliminate the leadership layersand thereby adversely affect thelivelihood avenues of the Tamilpeople.

It has also blamed certain vest-ed interests with an eye on theirvote-bank politics acting with ahidden agenda in collusion withcertain unscrupulous elements inthe AN Admn. The representationsaid that it is unfortunate thatthese elements are not duly awareof the great contributions of theTamils for the overall develop-ment as well as for protecting theharmonious social fabric of theseIslands.

On Legislative Assembly orPradesh Council, the representa-tion said that in the absence of anelected Legislative Assembly,which is expected to take care ofthe genuine problems of the peo-ple of these Islands, these vestedinterests are bent upon disturbingthe peaceful atmosphere that has

been prevailing here for overseven decades. The Sangham hasput forth their demand sayingthat even, if it is not immediatelypossible to have a full-fledgedLegislative Assembly, the erst-while Pradesh Council may berevived to safeguard the genuineinterests of the Islanders.

To substantiate the allegationagainst the Andaman andNicobar Administration,Andaman Tamizhar Sanghamhas highlighted various issuespertaining to suppression ofTamilian interests in theseIslands.

In the representation, it saidthat OBC Reservation to TamilSettlers and PermanentInhabitants of these Islands hasbeen denied. The officials of theAndaman Administration utterlyfailed to highlight before the OBCCommission the need to includeTamil Settlers in the list of OBCs.While the Admn took all efforts toinclude the post-1942 BengaliSettlers in the list, they deliberate-ly denied the same facility to post-1942 Tamil settlers and thePermanent inhabitants of theseIslands.

The Representation has alsoblamed the ANI Admn for denialof Resettlement of Tamil Settlersof Katchal Island. About 48 SriLankan expatriate families whowere settled in Katchal Island in

1960s were made to work in arubber plantation. Katchal Island,which falls under Tribal ReserveArea, due to which they were allalong, denied a proper settlementpackage that was extended to allother categories of settlers. Thesituation has further worsenedpost-Tsunami, with local tribalsclaiming the land currently underthe occupation of these TamilSettlers as well as for their totaleviction from Katchal Island.

The representation said that theSangham has been fighting forlong for their resettlement in theland available at Saithankhari,South Andaman, under the pos-session of Rubber Board, Kerala,which is kept unutilized for over20 years. Though the RubberBoard had expressed its willing-ness in writing to surrender thisland for the resettlement of theKatchal Tamil settlers, theAndaman and NicobarAdministration, possibly underpressure from vested politicalinterests, has been adopting a cal-lous approach to this issue andfailed to provide any honourableresettlement package. It is worth-while to mention here that theKatchal Tamil Settlers now com-prising of about 170 extendedfamilies, instead of taking a con-frontationist stand against thetribals of Katchal Island are will-ing to be evacuated from their

TAMILIANS DREADMOTIVATED REVENGEIn an explosive representation made to the HomeMinister, the Andaman Tamizhar Sangham, a socio-cultural organization, representing the interests of theTamilians of the Islands for over 60 years has lam-basted the ANI Admn accusing it of motivated harass-ment of prominent Tamil businessmen and concertedeffort to root out the Tamil community of the Islandslayer by layer in a planned manner.

Approaches Home Minister for Relieflands which have been in theiroccupation for over five decades.The Administration has not real-ized the consequences, had therebeen a stand-off between the trib-als and the Tamil settlers.

The Sangham in its representa-tion has also highlighted thatthere is motivated harassment ofprominent Tamil businessmen. Asmany as 7 prominent business-men from Tamil community,engaged in quarrying and con-struction business have beenarrested and kept under judicialcustody for more than 5 months,in an explosive case. Several oftheir applications for grant of bailhave been rejected due to strongopposition from the prosecutionside. Citing examples of similarcases, the representation felt itworth to mention that about 35cases relating to similar offencesare already in the court of law,and all those accused in thesecases had been let out on bailwithin a reasonable period oftime. But these 7 businessmen arenot able to get bail, due torevengeful and politically moti-vated attitude of the authorities.ATS also fee that it is quite possi-ble that these 7 prominent busi-nessmen, being totally demoral-ized due to delay in obtaining bail,might decide to leave the Islandsfor good which will in turnadversely affect the livelihood ofabout 1000 Tamil labourers work-ing under them and their families.

The Sangham has also accusedthe Administration of motivatedattempts at ethnic cleansing bytargeting the Tamil populationand those businesses run bythem. Sea sand quarrying, whichwas mainly controlled by Tamilbusinessmen, has been totallybanned for the last two years.Similarly, several crusher opera-tors, who happen to be Tamilians,have been denied renewal of theirlicenses in the name of pollutioncontrol, even though they havecomplied with all the norms stip-ulated for the same. Several high-value tenders successfully bid byprominent Tamil businessmen

have been cancelled citing vaguereasons, thereby causing hugeloss and mental agony to them.ATS also has highlighted thatwith the proposed move to intro-duce A&N Islands (Restriction onEntry and Residence) Regulation2006, there is a possibility of allnon-tribal and non-OBC popula-tion of these Islands losing theirproperty and residence rights,wherein the Tamil populationwould be the most affected.

The Sangham in the represen-tation has reiterated that itbelieves that there is a concertedeffort by the A & NAdministration, with undue pres-sure from vested political intereststo root out the Tamil communityof these Islands layer by layer in aplanned manner. It has also madeapprehensions that a situationmay arise wherein the entireTamil population of these Islandswould have to face forced migra-tion back to mainland. TheSangham has also warned aboutprotests and rallies, if suchoppressive measures against thecommunity are not immediatelystopped by the Andaman andNicobar Administration, whichmight disturb the peaceful atmos-phere prevailing in the Islands.

The ATS has requested theHome Minister to impress uponthe ANI Admn to desist from bow-ing to pressure from vested inter-ests and intimidating Tamil popu-lation who have made and are stillmaking significant contributionsto the socio-economic develop-ment of the Islands.

Speaking to LOA, A KBhojarajan, President, AndamanTamizhar Sangham said thatthousands of labourers areapproaching the Organisationseeking assistance as they arewithout wages for months now.He also said that it has nowproven beyond doubt that thehuge cache of explosives weremeant for illegal quarrying andnot for any terrorist activity, andthe accused should be chargedaccordingly and they may be leton bail.


Social SpeakPAUPER’S LOG |ABU ARSH

Nobody can deny thatFacebook has altered thelandscape of social inter-

action, particularly amongyoung people, we are just nowstarting to see solid psychologi-cal research demonstratingboth the positives and the nega-tives, Young adults who spendmore time on Facebook are bet-ter at showing "virtual empa-thy" to their online friends.Online social networking canhelp introverted adolescentslearn how to socialize behindthe safety of various screens,ranging from a two-inch smart-phone to a 17-inch laptop.Apart from social interaction onvaried issues Social Networkingmedia like Twitter, Facebook,My space, Google+ and othershave given us a medium to getto know and hear about issuesas and when they happen andget into discussions offering ourviews on them.

Every issue that our societyfaces is like a link of a chain.Each issue is connected toanother, either directly or indi-rectly. The chain of issues in thissociety that we live in, thestrongest links of that chain areilliteracy and ignorance.Illiteracy and ignorance is themother of all issues as it givesbirth to many other issues likepoverty, unemployment, childlabour, female foeticide, popu-lation burst and many more.

Of late, it is heartening to notethe number of Islanders flock-ing to offer their views on e-groups administered by localmedia like The Light ofAndamans, AndamanChronicle, Andaman Sheekhaon facebook and others likeAndamanicobar yahoogroupsor a recent entrant like our veryown MP's facebook e-group.There are no holds bar opinionson issues concerning ourIslands and its future. This givesan insight into the pulse of thepeople and good feedback tothe media, officials or politi-cians on developmental orother issues and policies. Therewere days when a newspaperwould perish or news would diedown without any impact,despite reporting a sinistercrime being committed by theofficials, politician, trader or ahabitual criminal. Those daysare history today.

People have got voices now,especially the young; be it fromthe confines of their drawingroom or study. The true face ofa politician, a bureaucrat, an

entrepreneur or an antisocial isexposed in no time. A detailedpostmortem of a statement oran action takes only a few min-utes after a thread is posted.Great views emerge and every-body is at a liberty to either buyit or take a walk.

There are times when therighteous would have beencyber bullied by small timepoliticians or messiahs ofoffenders as being intellectuals.The Jarawa issue at a time wasuntouchable by many on thepretext of being anti- develop-ment. Nobody would havecared two hoots if the questionpapers were leaked or an offi-cial's mediocre son would havegot A grades. A spoilt bratwould have been caught and letoff over speeding or is foundwith contraband grass.Environmental degradationwould have gone unnoticed. Amulti-crore vessel would betethered in one corner waitingtill eternity for the first lady tocrack the Champagne. Hon'bleMinisters would have come andgone unnoticed and those whointeract would have offeredpathetic contradictions,Godfathers would have consid-ered themselves above law.Bureaucrat's merrymaking andlaid back holiday mode wouldbe on their walls as a trophy.Selfish or self- centered individ-uals would offer pale justifica-tions for their point of view. Amisleading and divisive quoteby an official or a politicianwould have gone unques-tioned.

Not anymore. Every thread isretrievable if need be to set therecord straight. Cyber world hasbecome a great leveler. Theyoung speak their mind andgarner support from all quar-ters. Scribes have become confi-dent and more forthright.Oppression is not tolerated.People have become veryexpressive and opinionated.Bluff and blabber is reprimand-ed and sanity restored. Theislands can boast of its ownsocial networking site too as"Community of Andamanis'.Good going indeed for an islandwhich still has long way to gobefore it can come on thenational radar. To be wellinformed is to be branded anintellectual, so be it; better thanbeing an ignorant moron. Guyskeep up the good work andscribes at media would keepclicking the 'Like' button andbell the fat cat.

The Andaman Chamber ofCommerce and Industry alsomet the Home Minister, P

Chidambaram and submitted amemorandum highlighting vari-ous issues faced by the tradeindustry.

It requested the Home Ministerto keep Andaman Trunk roadopen and develop it as the roadprovides connectivity to Northerngroup of Islands. It also requestedthat to protect the tribals as well asfor environmentally sustainabledevelopment, Buffer Zone needsto be reduced to 8 mtrs from theexisting 5 kms.

On Coastal Regulatory Zone,the representation said that someof the clauses of Island ProtectionZone are extremely stringentwhich includes increasing the NoDevelopment Zone from 50 mtrsto as much as 500 mtrs in certaincases. It said that the notificationwas prepared without consider-ing the objections and inputs fromAndaman and NicobarAdministration, let alone discus-sion with the stake-holders andgeneral public. The Chamber feltthat continuation of IPZ would beextremely detrimental to thedevelopment of the Islands, espe-cially the tourism sector which isone of the thrust areas ofGovernment of India. TheChamber strongly opposed theIPZ and requested to immediately

withdraw/repeal the notification.The Chamber has also request-

ed for substantial investments inairports, ports, roads, bridges,power, water, public transportespecially in shipping by theGovernemnt for providing a rightplatform to the private sector toinvest.

ACCI has also demanded tomake substantive changes andreforms in the archaic Andamanand Nicobar Islands LandRevenue and Land ReformsRegulation, 1966 in consonancewith the present day requirementsto provide a right climate forinvestments. It has also requestedto do away with the present salepermission, ownership of land,purchase/sale of flats in buildings.

Highlighting the plight of con-struction industry, ACCI hasdemanded to prepare long termpolicies and put in place to ensurethat atleast quarry products andtimber from the forest depart-ment required for internal con-sumption are made available inthe Islands.

The Chamber has also request-ed to reconsider the RestrictedArea Permit and Work Permit forforeigners, which is presently 30days, which under current cir-cumstances to promote tourismshould be increased to a mini-mum of 90 days. Further longterm RAPs need to be given for

foreigners being employed in theIslands in certain areas likeAdventure sports, scuba divingand game fishing.

It also requested to improve airconnectivity and establish interna-tional air connectivity with SouthEast Asia not only for promotion oftourism but to provide relief to thepeople of the Islands from exorbi-tant airfare being charged by theairlines. It also suggested to advicethe Civil Aviation Ministry tomake Route Dispersal Guidelinesmaking it mandatory for all air-lines to operate to the Islands.

The representation said thatagriculture is not remunerativesector in the Islands and hence,there is a need to allow diversionof land for commercial, industrialand housing projects. It felt thatthis will accelerate the flow ofinvestments by the private sector.Saying that currently diversion ofland is not only restrictive but timeconsuming, it demanded theAdministration to put in place afast track procedure for allowingdiversion of land for bona fideprojects that will go a long way inencouraging investment and gen-erating employment.

Andaman Chamber ofCommerce has also demanded forestablishment of LegislativeAssembly/Pradesh Council inorder to have a better democraticdecision making process.

The Home Minister PChidambaram on the finalday of his visit met the vil-

lagers of Sippighat andTushnabad and also drove alongAndaman Trunk Road uptoChowdhary Gumai, where thecontroversial Jarawa Dance

Video was shot. From reliablesources, it has been learnt thathe interacted with the groundstaff of AAJVS and discussedvarious issues related withJarawas. It is learnt that he wasof the view that tourism onAndaman Trunk Road should be

stopped. He did not disturb the Jarawas

and refused to meet them. Hehad also met the ground staff ofAAJVS separately and soughttheir suggestions about thefuture course of action regardingJarawas. Later speaking to themedia he had made it clear thatthe Govt has no plans imposinganything on Jarawas.

ACCI Delegation Meets HM:Demands Investment

in Infrastructure

Gram Sudhar Sangham ina letter addressed to PChidambaram, Home

Minister had requested torelease the relief amountsanctioned by Home Ministryto the tsunami affected farm-ers without further delay. The

letter also praised theLieutenant Governor for tak-ing keen interest to ensurethat the farmers get the reliefimmediately. It also said thatpolitical conference of theCongress party held inDecember 2011 in which

many dignitaries including DrShakeel Ahmed, GeneralSecretary AICC has alsopassed a resolution under theleadership of the CongressPresident, Shri Kuldeep RaiSharma considering the grav-ity of the situation.

Gram Sudhar Demands Relief for Tsunami Affected Farmers

Home Minister Visits ATR

6 |edit|PAGE THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 27 JANUARY 2012

27 January 2012 | Vol 35 Issue 25

Na kuch kehte hi banta hai, Na chup rehte hi banta haiHamara bhee to is mitti se aakhir wastha hai kuch - (Raz Andamani)

Media Tribe Needs Mainstreaming

The media in the Islands have at many occasions drawnflak for its misdemeanors. The recent press meet withHome Minister P Chidamabaram reiterated the need

for mainstreaming of the media tribe in the Islands. Themedia in the Islands are an idiosyncratic mix of small-scalepoliticians and retired government servants. There arevery few exceptional cases, where trained and qualifiedjournalists struggle to sustain their newspapers. Their voic-es get silenced in the battle cry of the politicians who cometo press meets with their political and personal agenda.

The media was time and again reminded about their roleby PC, when instead of questions they started discussionsand suggestions. One 'scribe', a retired government servantstarted reading from a diary, without any introduction orquestion. PC interrupted him many times asking him topoise questions. On airfare and other issues, the scribesstarted to discuss and put forth suggestions, which werenot acceptable to PC.

The media which should do their own investigations andget a grasp of issues in most cases forget their role and con-vert press meets into discussion forums. A question whichshocked many was when a scribe complained that theAdministration does not take cognizance of issues high-lighted by them, which itself was self-explanatory aboutthe quality of media we have in the Islands. No doubt, themedia in the Islands looks outside to the national mediaand they have always felt that they are in sordid isolation.

Objective reporting and subjective analysis - both keepthe news as well as the debates alive. Unfortunately, whenmedia turns into a forum for character assassinations anda tool for self-aggrandizement, it becomes laughing stockand journalism takes a backseat.

Despite various limitations, independent media in theIslands can still bring forth many hidden stories to lime-light. It can be a watchdog on various governmentalschemes and projects. Instead of doing independent inves-tigations into the fact of successful completion of TsunamiRehabilitation Projects (TRP), it seems quite satisfied withthe reports and press notes issued by the Administration.

In the absence of a democratic system of governance,media has a vital role to play in the Island territory. It couldact as an opposition and dig the facts out instead of gob-bling down whatever the Administration provides.

There are clear-cut variations in the format of a dailynewspaper, weekly, fortnightly and monthly magazines.But, the differences are hardly visible in the format andstyle of journalism in the Islands.

A little bit of training in the basics of journalism would goa long way or the coming generations will also follow thebeaten path, and the wish for a constructive and objectivemedia will always remain a pipedream.

The media tribe truly deserves mainstreaming or it willremain in permanent isolation, which is not a good sign atthis stage of journalism in these Islands, when demand fora democratic setup is catching pace.

BY N. FRANCIS XAVIER

Giant trees rose on either sideof the narrow trial as itsnaked through the tropical

forest forming a thick canopyoverhead. Huge lianas hungdown from their branches likepythons. A few rays of sunlight fil-tered through the dense foliage.There was a chill in the airalthough it was midday.Everything was eerily silentexcept for an occasional shrill callof a parrot or the drumming of awoodpecker. The trial seemedendless as it dipped and rose andagain dipped into the evergreenforest.

I have trekked up MountHarriet many times. Once it wasto escort a British HighCommissioner to India, whowanted to witness the sunset fromthe peak, just like Lord Mayo, theViceroy of India, who was killedby a convict on his way down. Anotice announced that a trail leddown to 'Kala Pathar' or BlackRock. Another went down toMadhuban, the place where theForest Department elephantswent to school. But I never wentbeyond the bungalow at the top.

When Prof. Clare Anderson,Professor of History in theUniversity of Leicester told methat she was looking for some'graffiti' on Kala Pathar I was notinterested. How could some graf-fiti, written more than a hundredyears ago, be still there on a rock!But that would be a nice trek, andan opportunity to watch somerare birds. We set out in the morn-ing. Along came Zubair Ahmed,my journalist friend.

An excited Prof. Clare blazedthe trail. Behind her walkedZubair, stick in hand. I brought upthe rear. What appeared an easytrek in the beginning becametedious when we started climbinga steep rise. The loneliness madeit more arduous. The frail profes-sor walked with an easy step, but

my bad knee was giving me trou-ble, and I started doubting thewisdom of trekking all the way toa black rock and look for somegraffiti mentioned in the letter ofpastor to his daughter Prof Clarehad dug out in the British Library.

Prof Clare has found in somemanuscripts in the British Librarya letter written by one Rev.Warneford to his daughter Maudon 4th May 1876. It read, "Wentto the 'rock' at Mt. Harriet and cutout your name MAUD about 4inches long near Ms Stewart's.Reggie's is also there and the markof the bullet he fired from my rifleinto the tree at the side of therock". It was clear that manyBritish families stayed in the bun-galows on the top of Mt. Harrietduring the hot season. Theywould explore the forest andshoot pigeons. But a visit to the'Rock' to cut one's name has notbeen mentioned anywhere in therecords or the books I have read.

After what seemed an eternity anoisy group of trekkers overtookus. They were also going to KalaPathar for a picnic. It was greatrelief to have some company. Atleast the rock was there, if not thegraffiti. Prof Clare increased herpace as she sensed we wereapproaching the rock. A suddenshout announced that she hadfound what she was looking for. "I found it! - the graffiti! - its there!",an excited Clare said. When Ireached the rock a little later Icouldn't believe my eyes. In frontof us, was a huge black rock, wornsmooth by the weather, but withnot just WARNEFORD but manymore names cut into its surface.

The most prominent name was'WARNEFORD', with the year1876 below it. A little above it, ina corner was inscribed 'F. BAR-TON'. On the other side of therock I found two names, 'N. BAL-AGOOROO' and 'C. RAMANOO-JOOLOO' obviously south Indian.Beyond them, where the rock facefell away into a deep chasm, was

carved HMS RIFLEMAN, and adate, 1869. Other inscriptionsthat didn't make any sense to mewere the initial K.C.C. with thedate 2-3-1885 and some Urduwords. There might be more graf-fiti on the other side but it was toorisky, and the more recent graffiti,in paint and chalk, covered the oldones. It appeared that part of therock might have broken off andfallen into the chasm below. Thepicnic party spoke of the Japaneseusing the rock to push people totheir death during their occupa-tion of the islands.

Just as we turned to go I noticedanother set of initials cut deep intothe rock. They were large, veryneatly carved, and seemed famil-iar. 'F R de W' rang a bell. BothProf Clare and I blurted out at thesame time the full name of theperson, Lt. F. R. de Wolski of theRoyal Engineers, the officiatingExecutive Engineer of the settle-ment. I was suddenly remindedof the big fight that took placebetween Lt. Wolski and Capt.W.B. Birch, one of the AssistantSuperintendents. The epic war ofdemi-official letters between thetwo became the talk of the town inthe Port Blair of 1876.

In the stultified environment ofthe budding penal colony bothmen jockeyed for position. Birchwon; Wolski was suspended forinsubordination and transferred.That was a long story. But whatmade Wolski come and carve hisname into Kala Pathar? I won-dered. We couldn't find Maud'sname. Balagooroo andRamanoojooloo must have beensome kind of petty officers. HMSRifleman was the guard ship atPort Blair. Did the crew of the shipcome up for a picnic? Severalquestions rose in our minds as westarted walking back. Perhapsanother visit would reveal somemore names. But the thought ofgoing up again through the leech-infested forest was not really excit-ing, at least for the present.

Quest for Kalapathar

7 |home|PAGE THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 27 JANUARY 2012

SACRED | SPACE

Ateacher shows threetoys to a student andasks the student to find

out the differences. All thethree toys are seemed to beidentical in their shape, sizeand material. After keenobservation, the studentobserves holes in the toys.1st toy it has holes in theears. 2nd toy has holes inear and mouth. 3rd toy hasonly one hole in one ear.

Than with the help of nee-dle the student puts the nee-dle in the ear hole of 1st toy.The needle comes out fromthe other ear. In the 2nd toy,when the needle was put inear the needle came out ofmouth. And in the 3rd toy,when the needle was put in,the needle did not comeout.

First toy represent thosepeople around you whogives an impression thatthey are listening to you, allyour things and care for

you. But they just pretend todo so. After listening, as theneedle comes out from thenext ear, the things you saidto them by counting onthem are gone. So be care-ful while you are speakingto this type of peoplearound you, who does notcare for you.

Second toy representthose people who listens toyou all your things and givesan impression that they carefor you. But as in the toy, theneedle comes out frommouth. These people willuse your things and thewords you tell them againstyou by telling it to othersand bringing out the confi-dential issues for their ownpurpose.

Third toy, the needle doesnot come out from it. Thesekinds of people will keepthe trust you have in them.They are the ones who youcan count on.

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Three Types of People

LG Bhopinder Singh in a mes-sage to Smt. R.S. Dyal has con-veyed on behalf of the people

their heart-felt condolences to thebereaved family on the passingaway of Lt Gen (Retd) RanjitSingh Dyal, former Lt. Governorof ANI. We pray to God to rest hissoul in everlasting peace and mayAlmighty God bless the familywith courage and fortitude to bear

this irreparable loss.Lt Gen Dyal had served as

Administrator of these islandsfrom 25 Feb 1990 to 18 March1993. Born in village TukarBodhni in Kurukshetra district ofHaryana, he graduated in 1942and joined the Indian Army inPunjab Regiment (Para) and wassubsequently appointed asColonel of the Rajput Regiment.

The Superintendent of Police,South Andaman Districts,SBS Tyagi, IPS has been

awarded the coveted President’sPolice Medal for DistinguishedService by Her Excellency thepresident of India on the eve ofthe Republic Day 2012. Tyagi haswon this prestigious medal forrendering commendable serviceto the nation in his 28-yesr longcarder in Police.

SBS Tyagi joined the DelhiPolice as an Asst. Commissionerof Police in 1984 and worked invarious sub-divisions, Securityand Traffic. After his promotionin 1996, he worked as the Addl.DCP in two districts of Delhi andas DCP/Traffic (VIP). He wasalso the DCP/ RashtrapatiBhawan, New Delhi and looked

after the security of the Presidentof India.

Tyagi joined the A&N Police inAugust 2009 as Commandant ofthe Reserve Battalion (IRBn) andalso looked after the charges ofSP (Armed Police) and Principal,Police Training School. He hasbeen the South Andaman DistrictSuperintendent of Police fromOctober 2010 onwards. He is alsoin charge of VIP security, coastalsecurity and Traffic.

Among his commendableworks figure the fair and trans-parent recruitment of 506 PoliceConstables and the promotiontest for Head Constables, supervi-sion of the Special InvestigationTeam for the sensitive CBSEQuestion paper leakage case andthe high profile Explosive case.

As the SP/in charge of theTraffic, he has ensured thestreamlining of the ever bur-geoning vehicular traffic in PortBlair area and the enforcementof traffic rules. Under him, thePMF and the local police havemade significant achievementsin anti-poaching operations.

SBS Tyagi had earlier beenawarded the Police Medal forMeritorious Service in the year2006.

SBS Tyagi Awarded WithPresident’s Police Medal

AATTTTEENNTTIIOONNFor advertisements and subscription queries call:

SHAMIM: 9933260431 | ZUBAIR: 9932081771BASUDEV DASS: 9679507141

Please send cheques in favour of: The Light of Andamans

The Light of AndamansWinstar, 3, Police Mosque Shopping Complex, Supply Lane,

Aberdeen Bazar, Port Blair - 744101. Email: [email protected]

Altogether eight people fromdifferent walks of life havereceived the coveted Lt.

Governor’s CommendationCertificate this year for theirachievements in their respectivefields. These meritorious peopleinclude a progressive farmer ofChuckchucha village, Car

Nicobar, Shri Lionald Nicomede,a soldier from these islands,Sepoy, Shri Saw Cheku, ChiefMedical Officer, Dr. AshokSubramaniam, Social Worker,Smt. Raj Mahajan, IPS Officer,Shri Chinmoy Biswal, AssociateTown & Country Planner, Shri M.Balamurugan, Tribal Welfare

Officer, Shri Anup Kumar Mondaland Social Worker, Smt. RatnaKannan. The Lt. Governor, Lt.Gen (Retd.) Bhopinder Singhgave away LG’s CommendationCertificate to these persons dur-ing the main function of theRepublic Day celebration at NetajiStadium.

Commendation Certificate for Eight Persons

He was actively involved in 1965Indo-Pak War and was awardedMaha Vir Chakra, the secondhighest bravery award for display-ing outstanding leadership.

Former Lt. Governor Ranjit Singh Dyal Passes Away

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8 |back|PAGE THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Port Blair 27 JANUARY 2012

Deployment of FADs by NIOT in Isles

The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) is deployingFish Aggregating Devices (FAD) at various places in the Islands

at the instance of Department of Fisheries, A&N Administration.As part of it, 10 places have been identified to deploy the deviceswhich include East of Diglipur, Mayabunder, Rangat,Chidiyatapu, Hut Bay (Little Andaman), Car Nicobar, Kamorta,Campbell Bay (Great Nicobar), South of Neil Island and North ofSouth Sentinel Island. For this purpose, NIOT's OceanographicResearch Vessel (ORV) Sagar Manjusha has reached Port Blairwith FADs. The first FAD was deployed in the East of Chidiyatapuat about 5.5 nautical miles from the coast at 10 am on Jan 30,2012.

The deployment from the ship will be coordinated by Dr. S.Rajaguru, Scientist, NIOT, Chennai.

The local logistics and program is coordinated by Dr. N. V.Vinithkumar, Officer-In-Charge and scientists of Andaman andNicobar Centre for Ocean Science and Technology (ANCOST),Port Blair, a field unit of NIOT. The deployment of other FADs inthe other places will be done within Feb 7, 2012.

The FADs indents to provide congregation of fishes by estab-lishing fishery habitats around them within three to six monthsfrom installation. This will help the fishers to have a better harvestwith less fuel consumption by reducing the time spend for search-ing fish shoals.

CS Releases CD ofStatistical Publication

The Chief Secretary, A & N Admn released the CD containingpublication of Basic Statistics 2011. Principal Secretary(Planning/Statistics) was also present. A copy of CD was

handed over to him by the Director of Economics & Statistics. Thisis the first time a CD of this publication has been released by theDirectorate of Economics and Statistics.

Iwas observing the heavy trafficon a cross-road on one of thebusiest junction of a major metro

city in mainland during end-November. People were returninghome by car, auto and other trans-port after a hectic day. On the junc-tion a vehicle had to witness 2-3green signals to cross the junction.The hawker-boys were sellingevening newspapers and werehappy of the situation keeping aneye on the coins while the other onthe signal. As soon as it is green,they would rush or jump back tothe pavements to wait for next redsignal. A few would also attempt tocross to another side of the roadwhere the red signal is on.Hurriedly they wanted to clear off

their lot and return to their hermitswith certain support articles for thefamily living in nearby slums.

The green signal blinked.Seconds of delay to fetch the coinsfrom one of the car window from acustomer and before he could landon the pavement, was hit by aspeeding Scorpio that hurried toavoid another Red Signal. It did notstop, rather rushed with morevelocity to get away from the scene.The newspapers were into the airand scattered all over on the road.The traffic too was halted. A coupleof minutes and a boy of ten sud-denly emerged on the scene, col-lected the scattered papers andstarted selling them utilizing theopportunity of the obstructed traf-

Selling Newschalte | CHALTE fic.

I could not refrain myself andcame out of the taxi. I caught holdof his wrist and challenged him."Don't you feel ashamed of youract? The boy hit by the car, whoknows is dead or alive! And youscoundrel, stealing his papers andselling them to make some speedmoney"?

The boy was about to weep andalmost chocked," Saab woh merabada bhai hai. Agar yeh akhbaarbik gaya to kum se kam eelaz kenahin to kafan ke paise to ho heejayenge." (Sir, he is my elder broth-er. If these papers are sold, I believeI shall be able to collect somemoney for his treatment failingwhich for the shroud/dead man'sshroud at least)

I was dumb and shivering andretired on the pavement findingmyself unable to walk back to thetaxi.

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